Starry Heavens Newsletter
October 2014
Aloha - my name is Carolyn Kaichi and I would like to introduce myself as the new Hōkūlani Imaginarium Manager. I have experience as the manager for the Bishop Museum planetarium & observatory and I am very excited to now be part of the Windward Community College ʻohana. Feel free to contact me with suggestions or concerns at
kaichic@hawaii.edu. I look forward to sharing the excitement of space exploration and astronomy with you!
The Good, The Bad, The Better
The good news and bad news of the Imaginarium’s programs—first the bad news is that we have had to cancel the October 24 Halloween program due to unforeseen circumstances. We hope to eventually bring that event back in the future, however it will probably depend on feedback regarding interest in this show.
The good news is that we were finally able to premiere
One World One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure for the general public at our recent Windward Community College Hoʻolauleʻa event earlier this month. The August premiere was upstaged by Hurricane Iselle and was subsequently rescheduled to accommodate the Sesame Street character Zoe, who made a special appearance (you know these busy Hollywood stars!).
So if you’re looking for something to do with the kids the day after Thanksgiving (November 28), consider bringing them to see either the
Magic Tree House Space Mission at 10:00AM or
One World One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure at 11:15AM. Both are excellent planetarium programs for the whole family and certainly an option to fighting the crowds at the mall!
Since this newsletter is a bit late this month, there are no public shows for the rest of October, but check our website for upcoming programs in November at
http://aerospace.wcc.hawaii.edu/imaginarium.html.
Spaceflight News
Want to go to Mars? Maybe that isn’t totally possible, but you can start off by sending your name into orbit by October 31, 2014. NASA is inviting the public to send their names on a microchip to destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, including Mars. NASA’s Orion spacecraft is built to take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before. It will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry the crew to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel, and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities.
Your name will begin its journey on a dime-sized microchip when the agency’s Orion spacecraft launches on December 4 on its first flight, designated Exploration Flight Test-1. After a 4.5 hour, two-orbit mission around Earth to test Orion’s systems, the spacecraft will travel back through the atmosphere at speeds approaching 20,000 mph and temperatures near 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
But the journey for your name doesn’t end there. After returning to Earth, the names will fly on future NASA exploration flights and missions to Mars. With each flight, selected individuals will accrue more miles as members of a global space-faring society.
"NASA is pushing the boundaries of exploration and working hard to send people to Mars in the future,” said Mark Geyer, Orion Program manager. "When we set foot on the Red Planet, we’ll be exploring for all of humanity. Flying these names will enable people to be part of our journey."
The deadline for receiving a personal “boarding pass” on Orion’s test flight closes Friday October 31, but if you miss this deadline you will still have the opportunity to submit your name beyond October to be included on future test flights and future NASA missions to Mars.
To submit your name to fly on Orion’s flight test, visit:
http://go.usa.gov/vcpz
Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #JourneyToMars.
For information about Orion and its first flight, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/orion
Reservations
If you are planning on attending any of our monthly shows, we highly recommend making reservations. For reservations, please call 235-7433. As a reminder, reserved tickets must be picked up at the box office at least 15 minutes prior to showtime. If tickets are not picked up, we may sell them to patrons on the waiting list as we approach the start of the show. Additionally,
credit and debit cards are not accepted at the box office. For those that don't have reservations, we do have some tickets set aside that are sold on a first come, first served basis. I recommend arriving at the box office early if you don't have don't reservations (box office opens 30 minutes before the show begins). Please note that reservations can be made from 8am-4pm Monday-Friday. The office is not open on the weekends.
Happy Halloween,
Carolyn
